The Aşvan Project grew out of the second aspect of the Aşvan excavations, viz. the recovery of archaeologically relevant information from the modern situation, and began (in 1969) with the botanical work of Gordon Hillman.

Very quickly, particularly in 1970, with the help of those who undertook to carry out area-studies, the outline of a scheme for collecting data was sketched and, within a general framework, a number of problems were suggested; of all the problems, those of subsistence and subsistence-patterns were selected as offering the widest base for developing a co-ordinated programme of investigation. The choice was dictated, firstly, by the nature of excavated materials (structures, tools, refuse of stored food remains, both plant and animal) and, secondly, by the availability of a defined geographical area (the concession area i.e. the Aşvan bölgesi) in which was found a number of ancient settlement sites. All these sites could be excavated, together or separately, not only as part of a larger programme, but also by the same methods, standards and techniques and to the same ends; together, the sites covered a time-span of c. 7000–8000 years. In other words the Aşvan region was seen as a unit with clear, recognizable potential for area-studies while at the same time a good, ethical reason for undertaking a regional survey was apparent — any information rescued would be valuable.